SHIPS  AND  THE  OCEAN 


A  LIST  OF 

BOOKS   ON   SHIPS,  COMMERCE, 
AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE 


D  STATES  SHIPPING 


Compiled  for  the 

ATES  SHIPPI 

By  the  Free  Public  Libraryj  of  \Newark,  N.  J. 

MISS  M.v  Lf  PREVOST       .       .       ..       Compiler 
Under  direction  of  JOHN  COTTON  DANA,  Librarian 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1918 


13 


SHIPS,  COMMERCE,  AND  THE  MERCHANT  MARINE. 


There  is  probably  no  subject  more  inherently  interesting  than 
that  of  sea  commerce,  since  it  contains  in  so  large  proportion  the 
elements  of  adventure,  discovery,  and  reward. 

Here  are  some  of  the  books  of  fact  about  ships,  commerce,  and 
the  merchant  marine  chosen  for  their  interesting  forms.  All  have 
the  story  quality  in  high  degree  and  make  excellent  reading,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  the  last  three,  which  are  included  for 
reasons  given  in  the  notes.  All  are  well  illustrated. 

Ships  and  Commerce. 

"  The  Eomance  of  Commerce,"  by  H.  G.  Selfridge,  published  by 
Lane,  New  York,  1918,  $3.  Publishers  and  reviewers  have  said 
many  good  things  of  this  history  of  business  achievement  through 
sea  commerce ;  but  it  remains  for  each  individual  reader  to  measure 
his  own  appreciation  of  this  stirring  volume.  The  author  is  a 
merchant  of  world-wide  fame. 

"  Sailing  Ships ;  the  Story  of  Their  Development  from  the  Earliest 
Times  to  the  Present  Day,"  by  E.  K.  Chatterton,  published  by 
Lippincott,  Philadelphia,  1909,  $2.  Fascinating  for  its  illustrations 
as  well  as  for  its  story.  Gives  a  bibliography  of  many  unusual 
references  and  has  a  good  index.  Practically  every  type  of  sailing 
boat  is  pictured,  those  of  ancient  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome,  Phoenicia, 
Scandinavia,  England,  of  all  periods,  and  so  on,  to  the  Chinese  junk 
and  the  modern  yacht. 

"Steamships  and  Their  Story,"  by  E.  K.  Chatterton,  published 
by  Cassell,  London.  1910,  $5.25.  Does  for  steam  what  the  book  above 
does  for  the  sail.  Another  shorter  volume  by  the  same  author, 
"The  Romance  of  Commerce,"  published  by  Lippincott,  Philadel- 
phia, $1.50,  combines  and  abridges  the  two. 

"  Merchant  Venturers  of  Old  Salem,"  by  R.  E.  Peabody,  published 
by  Houghton,  Boston,  1912,  $2,  is  the  history  of  the  commercial 
voyages  of  a  New  England  family  to  the  Indies  and  elsewhere  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  The  bearing  of  the  politics  of  the  time  oil 
trade  is  shown  and  a  sketch  of  colonial  commerce  is  given. 

Individual  master  mariners  and  merchants,  their  ships,  voyages, 
homes,  and  associations  are  described  in  "The  Old  Shipmasters  of 
Salem,"  by  C.  E.  Trow,  published  by  Putnam,  New  York,  1905,  $2.50. 

"  Steamboat  Conquest  of  the  World,"  by  Frederick  A.  Talbot,  pub- 
lished by  Lippincott,  Philadelphia,  1912,  $1.50,  shovs  the  develop- 
ment of  water  transportation  in  the  past  hundred  years.  The  birth, 

96295°— 18  (2) 


3 

building,  equipment,  and  launching  of  a  modern  liner  are  described 
at  length,  and  topics  such  as  salvage  and  derelicts,  floating  docks, 
steamship  surgery,  safety,  and  the  conquest  of  little-known  waters, 
are  included. 

What  the  invitation  of  our  American  lakes  and  rivers  has  done  to 
the  shipwright's  trade  is  told  in  "  Our  Inland  Seas ;  Their  Shipping 
and  Commerce  for  Three  Centuries,"  by  J.  C.  Mills,  published  by 
McClurg,  Chicago,  1910,  $1.75.  The  building  of  a  lake  freighter, 
ore  and  grain  carriers,  wrecking  and  fire  tugs,  and  the  merchant 
marine  of  Canada  are  a  few  of  its  striking  chapters. 

It  will  not  be  long  before  our  newly  awakened  shipyards  will  be 
the  material  of  which  similar  books  are  made.  Already  the  maga- 
zines are  seizing  on  their  dramatic  points  and  publishing  arresting 
stories,  a  good  example  of  which  is  R.  M.  Hallett's  "  Fashioning  the 
Hollow  Oak,"  in  Century,  June,  1917. 
Merchant  Marine. 

"  The  Story  of  the  American  Merchant  Marine,"  by  J.  R.  Spears, 
published  by  Macmillan,  New  York,  1910,  $1.50.  A  deservedly  popu- 
lar little  volume.  From  the  Virginia,  first  pinnace  built  in  the 
United  States,  to  the  Lusitania,  it  runs  along,  with  enlivening  touches 
of  smugglers,  pirates,  and  slavers. 

"  The  American  Merchant  Marine ;  Its  History  and  Romance,"  by 
W.  L.  Marvin,  published  by  Scribner,  New  York,  1902,  $2.  This  is 
well-done  history,  slightly  longer  and  more  formal. 

"American  Merchant  Ships  and  Sailors,"  by  W.  J.  Abbot,  pub- 
lished by  Dodd,  Mead,  New  York,  1902,  $2.  Very  entertaining  vol- 
ume by  the  author  of  popular  sea  histories. 

"  The  Men  of  the  Merchant  Service,"  by  Frank  T.  Bullen,  pub- 
lished by  Stokes,  New  York,  1900,  $1.50,  described  by  its  author  as 
"the  polity  of  the  mercantile  marine  for  longshore  readers,"  is  a 
clever  presentation  of  each  and  every  man  aboard  a  merchantman 
from  master  to  boy,  a  chapter  or  more  to  each,  his  characteristics, 
surroundings,  and  duties  on  schooner,  tramp,  and  liner.  Mr.  Bullen 
shows  all  his  yarn-spinning  talent  in  these  sketches. 

"  Men  on  Deck,"  by  Felix  Riesenberg,  published  by  Van  Nostrand, 
New  York,  1918,  $3,  is  a  technical  manual  for  master,  mates,  and 
crew,  their  duties  and  responsibilities,  in  accordance  with  the  latest 
American  practice. 

"  The  Merchant  Marine  Manual,'nby  E.  E.  O'Donnell,  published 
by  Yachtman's  Guide,  Boston,  1918,  $1,  is  a  good  short  volume  of 
instruction  on  the  elements  of  seamanship,  prepared  expressly  for 
apprentices  on  United  States  training  ships  and  for  young  men 
thinking  of  the  service. 

The  direct  action  of  politics  in  the  past,  both  English  and  Ameri- 
can on  our  merchant  marine,  is  the  basis  of  "  American  Marine ;  tho  : 
Shipping  Question  in  History  and  Politics,"  by  W.  W.  Bates,  pub-  j 


4 

lished  by  Houghton,  Boston,  1893,  $4.  The  author  was  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Navigation.  Marine  insurance  in  this  and 
foreign  countries,  discussions  of  our  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Bureau  of  Navigation,  and  tables  on  the  comparative  life  of  wood 
and  iron,  British  and  American  built  vessels,  are  given.  A  volume 
that  will  be  needed  in  any  thorough  examination  of  the  subject. 

More  recent  history  of  the  same  sort  is  contained  in  the  "  American 
Mercantile  Marine,"  the  title  given  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Political  Science  of  the  city  of  New  York  for  October,  1915, 
published  by  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  New  York,  1915,  $2, 
and  containing  articles  by  various  authorities.  Some  of  the  topics 
covered  are :  What  Congress  has  done  and  should  do,  the  working  of 
the  seaman's  act,  investments  and  South  American  trade,  Govern- 
ment policy  and  trade  relations  with  the  Far  East,  shipping  prob- 
lems, and  the  probable  effects  of  the  war  on  our  foreign  trade. 

But  the  most  recent  history  of  all,  and  the  most  actively  important, 
is  to  be  found  as  yet  only  in  current  periodicals  and  papers. 

TREASURE    SHIPS. 

Here  are  books  about  treasure  ships,  old  and  new,  everything  about 
them — how  they  are  built,  how  they  are  sailed,  the  men  who  own 
them,  the  men  who  sail  them,  the  men  whom  they  profit,  where  they 
go  and  what  they  carry,  and  some  of  the  exciting  adventures  they 
have  known. 

Once  the  United  States  was  famous  for  her  treasure  ships — in 
colonial  and  revolutionary  days  and  after — and  thrilling  histories 
some  of  the  old  merchantmen  had.  Now,  after  going  to  sleep  on  the 
job  for  awhile  we  are  waking  up.  Hammers  are  sounding  in  ship- 
yards all  over  the  land  and  the  future  of  our  merchant  marine,  for 
that  is  the  business  name  of  modern  treasure  ships,  is  going  to  be 
more  glorious  and  many  thousand  times  more  wealth-producing 
than  its  past.  And  our  young  people  of  to-day  are  going  to  be  its 
treasure  seekers  and  finders. 

Making  of  Ships. 

"  Sailing  Ships,"  by  E.  K.  Chatterton,  published  by  Lippincott, 
Philadelphia,  1910,  $2.  Every  kind  of  sailing  ship  that  was  ever 
built  is  shown  and  pictured  here — boats  of  ancient  Egypt  and  Greece, 
Roman  triremes,  Phoenician  vessels  (the  greatest  treasure  carriers 
of  ancient  times),  Viking  ships  and  those  of  Spanish  Armada  days, 
and  many  more,  down  to  the  Chinese  junk  and  the  modern  yacht. 

This  author  has  written  other  books  about  boats,  all  equally  inter- 
esting. His  "  Romance  of  the  Ship,"  published  by  Lippincott,  Phila- 
delphia, 1910,  $1.50,  tells  about  steamships,  too. 

"  The  Boy's  Book  of  Steamships,"  by  J.  R.  Howden,  published 
by  Stokes,  New  York,  1913,  $2,  carries  us  from  the  first  application 


of  steam  to  boats  down  to  the  Lusitania.  It  gives  much  information 
about  steamship  companies,  mostly  English  owned  because  so  many 
of  the  best  have  been  English  owned  in  the  past.  In  the  future, 
with  our  great  sea  opportunities,  east  and  west,  we  hope  to  put 
England  and  other  seagoing  nations  on  their  mettle  in  this  friendly 
rivalry  of  commerce. 

"  Steamship  Conquest,"  by  F.  A.  Talbot,  published  by  Lippin- 
cott,  Philadelphia,  1912,  $1.50,  describes  at  length  the  making  and 
launching  and  stocking  of  a  great  liner  and  brings  out  many 
unusual  points  in  its  subjects  and  illustrations.  We  read  of  steam- 
less  ships  and  steamship  surgery,  of  salvage  and  floating  docks,  and 
wireless;  of  the  ships  that  travel  in  little-known  waters,  and  of  the 
work  of  derelict  destroyers.  A  very  enjoyable  book. 

Our  newest  American  merchant  ships  are  still  too  young  to  have 
books  about  them  but  we  find  them  in  articles  in  magazines.    "  Fash- 
ioning the  Hollow  Oak,"  by  E.  M.  Hallet,  is  a  good  story  of  how  one 
shipyard  woke  up.    It  is  in  the  Century  for  June,  1917. 
Seamanship. 

The  ways  of  the  sea  and  of  ships,  lighthouses,  lifeboats,  divers, 
and  other  nautical  matters,  are  told  for  boys  in  an  illustrated  book 
called  "  A  Book  of  the  Sea,"  by  Archibald  Williams,  published  by 
Sully  &  Kleinteich,  l$ew  York,  1916,  $1.35.  A  boy  who  enjoys  it 
will  be  apt  to  want  a  further  knowledge  of  seamanship. 

The  shortest  handbook  on  this  subject  is  one  prepared  for  use  on 
United  States  training  ships.  It  is  "  The  Merchant  Marine  Man- 
ual," by  Capt.  E.  E.  O'Donnell,  published  by  Yachtmen's  Guide, 
Boston,  1918,  $1,  and  gives  all  important  facts  needed  by  the  novice. 

Navigation  is  made  interesting  to  the  beginner  in  a  new,  short 
book,  "  Simplified  Navigation,"  by  C.  L.  Poor,  published  by  Century 
Co.,  New  York,  1918,  $1.50.  Technical  language  and  complicated 
formulas  are  avoided  and  principles  are  clearly  explained  for  the 
benefit  of  "  our  coming  navigators  on  sea  and  in  the  air." 

The  most  used  American  book  on  this  subject  is  "  Modern  Sea- 
manship," by  A.  M.  Knight,  rear  admiral,  U.  S.  Navy,  published 
by  Van  Nostrand,  New  York,  7  ed.,  1917,  $6.50.  Admiral  Knight 
considered  the  views  of  40  prominent  merchant  officers  in  dealing 
with  emergency  tactics.  Of  course,  this  is  a  technical  work;  but 
there  is  no  seamanship  that  is  not  good  seamanship,  and  boys  who 
are  interested  will  want  the  best. 

A  book  which  comes  under  this  subject  and  is  small  as  the  last- 
named  is  large,  and  which  any  boy  might  like  to  have  in  his  pocket, 
is  "  Knots,  Splices,  and  Rope  Work,"  by  A.  Hyallt  Verrill,  published 
by  Norman  W.  Henley  Publishing  Co.,  New  York,  1917,  75  cents. 
Every  knot  in  the  profession  is  described  in  words  and  drawings. 

Nothing  more  stirring  can  well  be  desired  than  the  history  of 
business  achievement  through  commerce  told  in  the  "  Romance  of 


6 

Owners  and  Merchants. 

Commerce,"  by  H.  G.  Selfridge,  published  by  Lane,  New  York,  1918, 

$3.    The  author  is  a  merchant  who  has  made  good  many  times  aver. 

"  Old  Shipmasters  of  Salem,"  by  C.  E.  Trow,  published  by  Put- 
nam, New  York,  1905,  $2.50.  These  are  short  sketches  full  of  inter- 
est of  the  old  master  mariners  and  ships  that  "  stood  the  storm  when 
winds  were  rough,"  and  some  of  their  voyages  and  brave  deeds.  The 
Peabody  Academy  of  Science  and  East  Indian  Marine  Museum,  in 
which  many  models  of  ships  and  specimens  of  their  cargoes  are  pre- 
served, are  also  described. 

"  Merchant  Ventures  of  Old  Salem,"  by  R.  E.  Peabody,  published 
by  Houghton-Mifflin,  Boston,  1912,  $2,  is  a  tale  of  the  commercial 
voyages  of  one  New  England  family  to  the  Indies  and  elsewhere  in 
the  seventeen  hundreds,  and  shows  how  political  events  of  those  days 
affected  trade.  It  has  a  good  chapter  on  colonial  commerce. 

Sailors. 

In  "  The  Men  of  the  Merchant  Service,"  by  Frank  T.  Bullen,  pub- 
lished by  Stokes,  New  York,  1900,  $1.50,  we  find  a  chapter  and  some- 
times more,  given  to  each  man  aboard  a  merchantman,  and  his  differ- 
ent duties  on  liner,  tramp,  and  sailing  ship.  Most  complete  and 
interesting,  it  tells  of  master,  mates,  boatswain,  carpenter,  sailmaker, 
steward,  cook,  seaman,  apprentice,  engineer,  fireman,  and  all  the  rest, 
including  the  boy. 

In  "Two  years  Before  the  Mast,"  by  R.  H.  Dana,  published  by 
Houghton-Mifflin,  Boston,  1911,  $1,  we  have  the  best  description  ever 
written  of  life  oji  a  sailing  ship.    This  edition  is  especially  enjoy- 
able for  its  excellent  colored  illustrations  by  Boy d- Smith. 
Cargoes. 

Scarcely  anything  that  is  found  in  the  earth,  or  grown  on  it  or 
made  upon  it,  but  is  fit  to  be  made  the  cargo  for  a  ship,  and  the  best 
way  to  see  at  a  glance  all  our  merchantmen  may  carry  is  to  turn  to  a 
commercial  geography  and  see  what  the  earth  produces.  These 
books  vary  considerably.  Two  short  and  entertaining  ones  with 
many  pictures  are  "  Commercial  Geography,"  by  A.  G.  Keller  and 
A.  L.  Bishop,  published  by  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston,  1912,  $1,  whose  pic- 
tures show  the  development  of  products  from  early  times ;  and  "  Com- 
mercial Geography,"  by  A.  P.  Brigham,  published  by  Ginn  &  Co., 
Boston,  1911,  $1.30,  which  takes  up  imports  and  exports  of  different 
countries. 

Still  more  interesting,  perhaps,  is  the  "Geography  of  Commerce 
and  Industry,"  by  W.  F.  Rocheleau,  published  by  Educational  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  Boston,  1905,  $1,  in  which  stories  of  the  great  industries 
appear.  "Commercial  Geography,"  by  Jacques  W.  Redway,  pub- 
lished by  Scribner,  New  York,  1915,  $1.25,  covers  more  ground  in  a 
more  advanced  way ;  and  if  a  really  complete  work  is  wanted  for  ref- 
erence, the  "Handbook  of  Commercial  Geography,"  by  George  G. 


Chisholm,  published  by  Longman-Green,  New  York,  1911,  $4.80,  is 
the  best  to  use. 

"A  History  of  Commerce  and  Industry,"  by  C.  A.  Herrick,  pub- 
lished by  Macmillan,  New  York,  1917,  $1.60,  varies  from  the  others 
in  combining  history  with  its  geography,  so  that  we  read  of  the  way 
things  have  changed  and  improved  as  well  as  the  way  they  are  now. 

Sometimes  these  products  of  the  earth  cross  the  ocean  in  their  first 
form  as  "  rough  "  materials.  Then  they  are  made  into  articles  of  use 
and  beauty  and  shipped  again  to  other  markets.  Some  of  this  work 
of  making  is  shown  in  "  The  Romance  of  Modern  Manufacture,"  by 
C.  R.  Gibson,  published  by  Lippincott,  New  York,  1910,  $1.50.  One 
of  the  manufactures  is  shipbuilding  itself. 
History  and  Adventure. 

"  The  Story  of  the  American  Merchant  Marine,"  by  John  E.  Spears, 
published  by  Macmillan,  New  York,  1910,  $1.50.  A  very  popular 
book,  and  for  good  reason.  Through  sailing  days  into  steam,  from 
the  first  pinnace,  Virginia,  built  in  the  United  States,  to  the  Lusi- 
tania,  it  holds  the  attention.  Smugglers,  pirates,  and  slavers  all  add 
their  share. 

"  The  American  Merchant  Marine ;  Its  History  and  Romance,"  by 
W.  L.  Marvin,  published  by  Scribner,  New  York,  1902,  $2,  is  good, 
interesting  history,  slightly  longer  and  more  formal  than  the  book 
above. 

"American  Merchant  Ships  and  Sailors,"  by  W.  J.  Abbot,  pub- 
lished by  Dodd  Mead,  New  York,  1902,  $2,  has  all  the  attractive 
points  of  the  many  popular  sea  histories  this  author  has  written — - 
thrilling  adventure,  as  a  matter  of  course. 

If  anyone  can  spin  a  good  yarn,  it  is  Frank  T.  Bullen,  who  wrote 
"  The  Cruise  of  the  Cachalot."  published  by  Appleton,  New  York, 
$1.50.     What  the  Cachalot  did  was  to  sail  round  the  world  after 
sperm  whales. 
Where  the  Ships  Go. 

There  seems  to  be  almost  no  end  to  the  books  written  r.bout  the 
lands  to  which  our  merchantmen  may  go.  Many  of  them  tell  of 
single  lands  and  more  of  them  tell  of  single  places,  and  these  can 
not  be  mentioned  in  this  short  list.  So,  the  best  way  to  begin  is  to 
select  the  shortest  books  that  give  us  a  little  of  everywhere,  and,  when 
one  or  another  place  looks  good  to  us,  to  go  to  the  library  and  ask 
for  books  and  articles  about  the  country  and  people  and  products  of 
Brazil,  or  Japan,  or  France,  or  China,  or  Russia,  or  Italy,  or  Aus- 
tralia, or  the  West  Indies,  or  the  South  Sea  Islands,  as  the  case  may 
be.  The  best  small  books  for  our  purpose  are  the  Geographical  Read- 
ers, by  F.  G.  Carpenter,  published  by  the  American  Book  Co.,  New 
York.  Their  names  and  prices  are  as  follows:  North  America,  60 
cents;  South  America,  60  cents;  Europe,  70  cents;  Asia,  60  cents; 
Africa,  60  cents ;  Australia,  60  cents. 


